Lovers –

Perfectionism has been showing all of it’s faces. This blog itself is a case in point. I’ve been drafting this to you for weeks now, months , waiting, writing, re-writing, editing, getting lost in the details of trying to figure out what to say, how to say it, fumbling with prioritizing most important moments to share… A yoga instructor I took class with during my last days in Cambodia said, “If we waited for things to be 100% we’d never leave the house.” This is too true, and is why this drafted and re-drafted and drafted again post has been sitting in my files unread.

As I type this I’m currently sitting by the South China Sea, surrounded by palm trees, rolling waves and strong, blowing winds. I am in Mui Ne, Vietnam, where the Universe has gifted me with yet another idyllic and unexpected teaching opportunity where I’m offering yoga once to twice a day in exchange for a room by water <3 Joe’s Cafe & Garden Resort, where I’m teaching and living, is a lovely mix of coffee shop / beach resort / night life hot spot offering live music every evening, lounge chairs by the beach, yummy egg crepe breakfasts and the best lattes in town. We roll our mats out by the sea and soak in the bliss of it’s music. It’s a gift, to say the least, and I’ll be here until the end of August honing in on reading, writing and teaching yoga, of course :) I am loving living by the ocean… being foot steps away from the shoreline I spend most of my days being as close to the waves as possible letting the sound wash over me. I like to think even when I’m not actively listening they’re still clearing out background noise, re-wiring thought-pattern forms, cleaning out house.

Before arriving to Mui Ne, I spent my first three weeks in Vietnam living in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) with my friend Bridget and her two kids, Makena (age 6) and Kaj (age 4). I met Bridget in San Diego at Hapa Yoga where she was one of my yogi regulars whirling in and out of classes :) It was sweet to snag a piece of home from her presence and to open my friendship with her on new levels. Her kids are bright, hilarious and adorable, and having never lived with kids before it was a wild first ride that shed some light onto my limits, desires and needs :) Bridget is a strong-willed, vibrant and beautiful soul, an artist and musician who generously shared her home, life and energy with me. She pushed and inspired me in ways she didn’t even realize, including getting me to sing on stage with her songs that we hadn’t practiced and songs that I’d never even tried singing before. The perfectionist in me squirmed. We’d never leave our house…or get on stage… if we waited until everything was 100%…this was true, too, with my new friend Jeremy, who also invited me onto the stage with him for two of his sets. I appreciated that he didn’t tell me it was amazing afterward when we both knew it wasn’t. It’s not that it was horrible, it’s just that it wasn’t great…that didn’t really matter though, it was invaluable experience and beautiful first steps to a new relationship with the mic… <3

Before Ho Chi Minh City, I ended my time in the beautiful country of Cambodia marveling at the temples in Siem Reap. Angor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world, was amazing and literally took my breath away. I wasn’t expecting to be so moved, I honestly thought I’d just show up and see another beautiful site, but upon first glance I was humbled and moved, jaw dropped open, “oh my God” whispered out. There are over 120 temples in the general area, and I spent four days wandering around some of them finding refuge and deep peace in their presence. I spent hours ducking in and out of rainfall, writing post cards, journal entries, simply sitting in the shelter they offered. Parts of them were built so that you were forced to move slowly, mindfully, maneuvering the large steps and small spaces within “the house of the Gods” with reverence, revere. And though I felt stillness within these temple walls, the creation of them were by no means soft or calm. Slave labor led the forefront with years of intense work, sweat and sacrifice. Angor Wat in and of itself took 35 years to build with the hands of over 300,000 workers and on the backs of over 6,000 elephants. I sat mesmerized at the stone carvings, thinking how someone had dedicated a significant part of their life to just a corner, a portion, of the wall. The magnitude of team work and community resonated loud; the power of what we can do when we work together, what we can create when we collaborate, what we can construct one piece at a time…

Oh how the ties of perfection continue to unfold….having written this ending nearly a dozen times now I can’t help but laugh at wondering when it will ever be done :) So much to say, so much to share, so much to leave unspoken. In trusting that we’ll speak again soon, I’ll leave you with this:

“There is a voice that has no words…
Listen.”
– Rumi

Expansive hugs from my heart to yours,
Love, love, LOVE.

<3